How Style Gave Trayvon his Identity Back

Similarly to the disturbing picture of Emmett Till, the viral ‘hoodie’ photograph of Trayvon Martin was a close up of the now deceased child. Although this picture did not possess the same type of shock value, it still formed a deeply emotional relationship with the audience. By providing a picture of Trayvon before his death the viewer was still forced to acknowledge that this was a person. Choosing a youthful picture of Trayvon stressed this idea of childhood even further. The composition of the photo tells any 21^st century viewer that this is a selfie, perhaps a picture of posted by Trayvon himself on something like Facebook or Instagram. You can imagine him taking the picture, awkwardly holding the camera at a lower angle to capture his good side. You can imagine how many pictures he took before picking this one to post on his profile for everyone to like and comment on. At this time it was a simple selfie of a boy in his hoodie, but this photo had transformed into a campaign against injustice. This photo encompasses the idea that this was a boy, a child whose life had been stolen. The grayscale composition adds a more sullen tone to the photograph, emphasizing the grim nature the picture now holds. Nonetheless, this photo of Trayvon makes him more human to the world. It provided Trayvon with an identity that had been stolen by news broadcasters, ‘nay-sayers’ and let’s not forget George Zimmerman.

-Ashley McNeill